Mounting structure of flexible printed circuit board and sliding-type electronic device

ABSTRACT

A mounting structure of a flexible printed circuit board and a sliding-type electronic device is provided by which a too large increase in thickness of devices can be avoided and a pair of housings can be slid relatively in a bending and slanting direction. In the mounting structure, an upper housing  12  and a lower housing  22  coupled in a freely slidable manner are electrically connected to each other by a flexible printed circuit board folded back to be routed between slide facing surfaces  12   b  and  22   a  of both the housings and the height of a side wall surface  12   c  and  22   c  of the upper housing and lower housing changes in a bending manner along the direction of freely sliding and, in the slide facing surfaces of the upper housing and lower housing, concave space portions  15  and  25  to accommodate the change in curvature and in position of a folding-back portion  31   a  caused by sliding motion between the upper housing and lower housing are disposed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a mounting structure of a flexibleprinted circuit board and a sliding-type electronic device and moreparticularly to the mounting structure of the flexible printed circuitboard being able to house, in a compact manner, the flexible printedcircuit board between slide facing surfaces of housings that slide in adirection relative to each other and the sliding-type electronic device.

In electronic devices being available recently, for example, somedevices are configured so that a display section and an operationsection are disposed in separate housings and a pair of housings iscoupled in a freely slidable manner. In the sliding-type electronicdevices, by making the operation section hidden on a rear side of thedisplay section at time of not using the device and by making theoperation section exposed so as to be operable for inputting at time ofusing the device, limitation of careless inputting operation andcompactness of the devices are achieved.

In the sliding-type electronic device of this type, it is necessary thatcircuit boards mounted in the pair of sliding housings are electricallyconnected to each other by using a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board.The FPC board is configured, by setting its length to be longer than theminimum length required to connect between circuit boards of the bothhousings to form a folding-back portion (folding-back section), so as tofollow the sliding motion relative to each other between housingswithout the occurrence of the breaks of the FPC board and to maintain aconnection state (for example, Related Art Patent Reference 1).

Incidentally, there is a proposal that a structure in which a displayportion and an operation portion are connected in a bending surface ofthe FPC board is to be applied to an electronic device having thedisplay portion and operation portion, in particular, to a portable typeelectronic device such as a mobile phone (for example, Related ArtPatent Reference 2). Moreover, in the mobile phone of the above type, byemploying the structure in which the operation portion being connectedto the display portion is opened or closed by the sliding of the cover,careless inputting operation can be limited.

RELATED ART DOCUMENT Related Art Patent References

-   Related Art Patent Reference 1: WO2006/095382-   Related Art Patent Reference 2: Japanese Patent Application    Laid-open Hei9-247252

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, the sliding-type electronic device disclosed in the Related ArtPatent Reference 1 has a problem in that areas occupied by internallymounted various components caused by miniaturization and thinning andfunctional increases tend to increase. Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 9 and10, in the sliding-type electronic device 100 such as a mobile phone inwhich a housing 101 having a display portion 101 a and a housing 102having an operation portion (not shown) are coupled to each other in afreely sliding manner through a sliding mechanism, it is necessary toprepare a space 120 to mount an FPC board 110 between the pair ofhousings 101 and 102 so that the space 120 extends with a predeterminedheight H in a sliding direction. The sliding-type electronic device 100has another problem in that, in order to achieve its miniaturization andthinning and to decrease a ratio of the height H of the mounting space120 to a whole thickness T, if a bending radius of a folding-backportion of the FPC board 110 is made small (if curvature is made large),the durability of the FPC board 110 decreases due to sliding motion foropening and closing, resulting in a break of the FPC board 110.

On the other hand, the Related Art Patent Reference 2 discloses anothermobile phone in which, if, by making the most of the posture relative toeach other between a display portion and an operation portion, forexample, the posture of a housing on the display portion side, which hasslid over the housing on the operation side, is inclined in a directionof rising, useless space is provided. That is, since the facing surfacethat faces a side of a housing having circuit boards is bent, space forbending is required.

In other words, in the case of a mechanism in which a pair of housingsis slid on each other in a bending direction, it is necessary to ensuresufficient space to mount the FPC board and to slide one housing overanother housing, resulting in increased thickness on the whole.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provideamounting structure of the flexible printed circuit board and asliding-type electronic device which is able to slide a pair of housingsin a bending direction relative to each other without causing a largeincrease in thickness of a device.

Means for Solving the Problems

To solve the above problems, the configuration of the present inventionis characterized in that a mounting structure of a flexible printedcircuit board including a flexible printed circuit board routed betweenslide facing surfaces of a first housing and a second housing both beingmechanically coupled to each other in a manner being freely slidable toelectrically connect the first and second housings wherein a heightmaking up a sidewall surface of at least one of the first and secondhousings changes along a freely slidable direction and a concave spaceportion on a slide facing surface making up at least one of the firstand second housings to accommodate a flexible change in shape of theflexible printed circuit board caused by sliding motion between thefirst and second housings.

Effects of Invention

According to the configuration of the present invention, the flexibleprinted circuit board can flexibly change its shape depending on slidingmotion in concave space portions disposed on slide facing surfaces ofhousings a height on a wall side of which changes. Therefore, it is notnecessary to separately provide space in which the height of the sidewall surface and space to accommodate a flexible change in shape causedby sliding motion of the flexible printed circuit board and thusminiaturization and thinning can be achieved without causing unnecessaryincreased thickness of a device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone being a portabletype electronic device having a sliding mechanism of a first exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a separate perspective view showing the configuration of anupper housing and lower housing of the mobile phone of the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the upperhousing of the mobile phone of the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing sliding motion of the mobile phone of theexemplary embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 4( a) is a sidesurface perspective view showing a state before the sliding motion andFIG. 4( b) is a side surface perspective view showing a state after thesliding motion.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone being a portableelectronic device having a sliding mechanism of the second exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram explaining sliding motion of the mobile phone andFIG. 6 (a) is a side perspective view showing a state before the slidingmotion and FIG. 6 (b) is a side perspective view showing a state beforethe sliding motion.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone being a portableelectronic device having a sliding mechanism of the third exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram explaining sliding motion of the mobile phone andFIG. 8( a) is a side perspective view showing a state before the slidingmotion and FIG. 8( b) is a side perspective view showing a state afterthe sliding motion.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone having a slidingmechanism of the related technologies; and

FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining sliding motion of the mobile phone andFIG. 10( a) is a side perspective view showing a state before thesliding motion and FIG. 10( b) is a side perspective view showing astate after the sliding motion.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A mounting structure of a flexible printed circuit board is provided inwhich a first housing and a second housing mechanically coupled eachbeing freely slidable are electrically connected by a flexible printedcircuit board folded back to be routed between sliding surfaces of theboth housings facing each other, characterized in that a height of aside wall surface making up at least one of the first and secondhousings changes in a bending or slanting manner along the direction offree sliding and that a concave space portion is provided on the slidingsurface making up at least one of the first and second housings toaccommodate a flexible change in shape of a curvature of folding-back ofthe flexible printed circuit board and its folding-back position or thelike caused by sliding motion of the first and second housings.Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention aredescribed in detail by referring to drawings.

First Exemplary Embodiment

FIGS. 1 to 4 are diagrams respectively showing one example of a mobilephone to which a sliding-type electronic device having a mountingstructure of a flexible printed circuit board of a first exemplaryembodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a perspectiveview of an outward appearance of the mobile phone. FIG. 2 is a separateperspective view, as seen from an upper slanting direction, of a firsthousing and a second housing making up the portable phone. FIG. 3 is aseparate perspective view, as seen from a lower slanting direction, ofthe first housing. FIG. 4 is a side transparent view showing theflexible printed circuit board to which a circuit board is connectedduring a sliding operation of the first and second housings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 10 is so configured that an upperunit 11 and a lower unit 21 are coupled by the flexible printed circuitboard 31 (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as an FPC board) 31which are shown in detail later in FIG. 2 and other and in a manner inwhich the upper and lower units 11 and 21 can overlie each other in theshape of thin rectangular parallelepiped. The mobile phone 10 is alsoconfigured so that the upper unit 11 faces the lower unit 21 and a lowersurface 12 b of the upper housing 12 of the upper unit 11 can be coupledto an upper surface 22 a of the lower housing 22 of the lower unit 21 ina manner in which the lower surface 12 b and upper surface 22 a can befreely slid in a longitudinal direction with these two surfaces 12 b and22 a facing each other. In the upper unit 11, a display portion 11 a todisplay various information is disposed on approximately the whole uppersurface 12 a of the upper housing 12. In the lower unit 21, an operationsection 21 a to perform an operation to input various information isdisposed (see FIG. 2) in a region on the upper surface 22 a of the lowerhousing 22 that exposes after having slid the upper unit 11 (see FIG.2). The mobile phone 10 is so configured as to relatively slide theupper unit 11 and lower unit 21 in a longitudinal direction to open orclose the operation section 21 a in an operable or inoperable mannerand, by using a relative slide-open operation direction of the upperhousing 12 and lower housing 22 as a reference, each of theconfigurations on a tip end side and on a rear end side is described(This can be applied to other exemplary embodiments described below).

In the upper unit 11, a height of the side surface (side wall portion)of the upper housing 12 changes in a bending manner in a direction inwhich the upper housing 12 freely slides (simply referred to as asliding direction) and the lower surface 12 b bends in a longitudinaldirection of the rectangular parallelepiped and extrudes in a convexshape. Similarly, in the lower unit 21, a height of the side surface(side wall portion) of the lower housing 22 changes in a bending mannerin a direction in which the lower housing 22 slides and the uppersurface 22 a bends in a longitudinal direction of the rectangularparallelepiped and is recessed in a concave shape. Each ofcross-sections of the lower surface 12 b and upper surface 22 a is soformed as to be similar to each other and to face each other in a statecoming near to each other. In the lower housing 22, as shown in FIG. 2,extruding rails 23 each having its cross-sectional shape of a key-shapedtrack are formed along both sides of the upper surface 22 a in alongitudinal direction, which extends by a length being a half of alength of a longitudinal direction of the upper surface 22 a. On theother hand, in the upper housing 12, as shown in FIG. 3, grooved rails13 each having its cross-sectional shape of a key-shaped track areformed along both sides of the lower surface 12 b and extend by a wholelength of a longitudinal direction of the lower surface 12 b.Cross-sectional shapes of the extruding rails 23 and cross-sectionalshapes of grooved rails 13 are respectively formed so as to be similarto one another so that these rails 13 and 23 are fitted in an engagedstate to be slidable and are coupled to one another.

In the mobile phone 10, by fitting the extruding rails 23 into thegrooved rails 13, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper housing 12 and lowerhousing 22 are allowed to be relatively slid toward bent portions in thelongitudinal direction of the rails 13 and 23 in a state being kept inwhich the lower surface 12 b of the upper housing 12 comes near to theupper surface 22 a of the lower housing 22. That is, the grooved rail 13and extruding rail 23 make up a sliding mechanism and the lower surface12 b of the upper housing 12 and lower surface 22 a of the lower housing22 make up a slide facing surface. Then, by relatively sliding the upperunit 11 and lower unit 21, which have overlain each other, toward the“open” direction, the operation section 21 a, which has remained hiddenin a state facing the lower surface 12 b of the upper housing 12, on thetip end side where there is no extruding rail 23 disposed on the uppersurface 22 a of the lower housing 22 is allowed to be exposed to performinputting operations. At this time point, the lower surface 12 b of theupper housing 12 bending in a convex shape is slid over the uppersurface 22 a of the lower housing 22 bending in a concave shape to allowthe display portion 11 a disposed on the side of the upper surface 12 ato be put into operation. In other words, the display portion 11 a is ina state being risen from the operation section 21 a on the upper surface22 a side of the lower housing 22 and, therefore, a face angle at thedisplay portion 11 a facing a user can be made larger which can improvevisibility, compared when the operation section 21 a is positioned on aplane surface on which an operation surface of the operation section 21a is extended.

In the upper unit 11 and lower unit 21, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, theFPC board 31 being in a state folded back to be routed from adrawing-out port 16, in a shape of an aperture, formed in the lowersurface 12 b of the upper housing 12 and a drawing-out port 26, in ashape of an aperture, formed in the upper surface 22 a of the lowerhousing 22 is inserted into an inner space between the upper housing 12and lower housing 22 to supply electricity between circuit substrates 14and 24 (see FIG. 4) to be mounted internally. That is, the FPC board 31is drawn from the drawing-out ports 16 and 26, in a shape of anaperture, respectively formed on the lower surface 12 b of the upperhousing 12 and formed on the upper surface 22 a of the lower housing 22and its folding-back section 31 a is positioned between slide facingsurfaces, thus allowing the upper unit 11 and lower unit 21 to be slidin a longitudinal direction.

More specifically, in the upper unit 11, a concave space portion 15 isformed through approximately the whole length from a portion near to thetip end side to a portion near to the rear end side in a longitudinaldirection of the lower surface 12 b of the upper housing 12 bending in aconvex shape. The concave space portion 15 is so formed as to have abottom surface 15 a being parallel to the circuit substrate 14 and uppersurface 12 a and a recessed shape being wider in width than the FPCboard 31 and the drawing-out port 16 of the FPC board 31 is formed, in ashape of an aperture, on the rear end side. On the other hand, in thelower unit 21, a concave space portion 25 is formed from a portion nearto the rear end side to a portion near to a lowest bottom portion in theproximity of a concave-shaped central portion in the longitudinaldirection of the upper surface 22 a of the lower housing 22 bending inthe concave shape. The concave space portion 25 is so formed as to havea bottom surface 25 a being parallel to the circuit substrate 24 and theupper surface 22 a and a recessed shape being wider in width than theFPC board 31 and a drawing-out port 26 of the FPC board 31 is formed, ina shape of an aperture, on the tip end side (near the front). That is,the drawing-out port 16 of the upper housing 12 and the drawing-out port26 of the lower housing 22 are formed on the end portion of the concavespace portions 15 and 25 so that the drawing-out ports 16 and 26 are notexposed to the outside even in the case of the state where the upperunit 11 and lower unit 21 overlie each other or even in the case of thestate where the upper unit 11 is slid over the lower unit 21 to themaximum. Moreover, the drawing-out port 26 of the lower housing 22 isformed at a place facing the drawing-out port 16 of the upper housing 12in an opened state where the drawing-out port 26 is slid to the maximum.

On the other hand, on the upper unit 11 side, the FPC board 31 extends,after being drawn from the drawing-out port 16 formed, in a shape of anaperture, on the rear end side of the concave space portion 15 of theupper housing 12, up to the tip end side (up to over a portion near to acentral portion) of the concave space portion 25 of the lower housing 22facing the tip end portion of the concave space portion 15. The FPCboard 31 on the lower unit 21 extends, after being drawn out from thedrawing-out port 26 formed on the tip end side of the concave spaceportion 25 of the lower housing 22, up to the rear end side. The FPCboard 31 has the folding-back portion 31 a which is formed by beingextended in the same direction between the tip end side of the concavespace portion 15 on the upper unit 11 side and the rear end side of theconcave space portion 25 on the lower unit 21 side.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4( a), the folding-back portion 31 a of theFPC board 31, at the time of the closing state where the upper unit 11and the lower unit 21 overlie each other, is positioned near to aportion on the rear end portion of the drawing-out port 26 of theconcave space portion 25 and is housed in the concave space portions 15and 25. That is, the FPC board 31 is positioned in most of the area ofthe concave space portion 15 of the upper housing 12 and, therefore, thefolding-back portion 31 a bends in a curvature that provides no load andits dimensions are set so that the distance between the bottom surface15 a and lower surface 12 b falls within a maximum interval distance L1.

Moreover, at the time of the opened state in which the upper unit 11 isslid over the lower unit 21 at the maximum, the folding-back portion 31a of the FPC board 31, as shown in FIG. 4( b), moves from a portion nearto the drawing-out port 26 of the concave space portion 25 toward therear end side and is housed in the concave space portions 15 and 25.That is, as the drawing-out port 16 of the upper housing 12 is slid overthe tip end portion (approaching the drawing-out port 26 of the lowerhousing 22), the FPC board 31 existing between the drawing-out ports 16and 26 changes the position where the folding-back portion 31 a isformed so as to be positioned on the rear end side in the concave spaceportion 15 corresponding to a portion near to a central portion of theconcave space portion 25 and, therefore, the dimensions are set so as toprevent the exposure toward the outside.

Therefore, at the time of the opened state in which the upper unit 11 isslid over the lower unit 21 to allow the operation section 21 a to beexposed, by positioning the FPC board 31 in the concave space portion 15of the upper housing 12 and in the concave space portion 25 of the lowerhousing 22, the distance between the bottom surface 15 a and lowersurface 25 b falls within the distance L2 obtained by adding spacedistance on the concave space portion 25 side to the distance L1obtained when the upper unit 11 and lower unit 21 overlie each other.Therefore, when the upper unit 11 is slid over the lower unit 21, bychanging the shape of the folding-back portion 31 a so as to be bentgently in a curvature that provides less load, the connected statebetween the circuit substrates 14 and 24 can be maintained. Moreover, byusing the FPC board 31, the sliding distance falls within the shortdistance L3 being shorter than a sliding distance L4 of the upper unit11 and, therefore, a large exposure area on the tip end side of thelower unit 21 can be taken, which makes it possible to ensure a largerarea of the operation section 21 a.

The FPC board 31 moves the folding-back portion 31 a and changes itsshape outside the drawing-out ports 16 and 26 of the upper housing 12 orthe lower housing 22 (that is, the use of the drawing-out ports 16 and26 is not required for inputting and outputting) and, therefore, it ismade possible to seal portions other than the drawing-out ports 16 and26 of the upper housing 12 and lower housing 22 or to block thedrawing-out ports 16 and 26, which can improve dust resistance.

Thus, according to the first exemplary embodiment, the concave spaceportions 15 and 25 are formed respectively on the lower surface 12 b ofthe upper housing 12 and on the upper surface 22 a of the lower housing22 both being the slide facing surfaces between the upper unit 11 andlower unit 21 both being relatively slid in a bending direction and,therefore, the folding-back portion 31 a of the FPC board 31 can behoused in the above concave space portions 15 and 25. As a result, spaceamong the lower surface 12 b, upper surface 22 a, and circuit substrates14 and 24 can be used effectively without producing dead space, whichensures mounting space (distances L1 and L2) required for durability ofthe FPC board 31 therein without providing another space separately.Thus, in the first exemplary embodiment employing the structure allowingthe upper unit 11 to be slid over the lower unit 21 in a slantingdirection and allowing miniaturization and thinning of the mobile phoneto be achieved, as a result, a user performing operations of theoperation section 21 a can see visually and easily the display portion11 a.

Second Exemplary Embodiment

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing one example of a mobile phone of asecond exemplary embodiment employing a sliding-type electronic devicehaving a mounting structure of an FPC board of the present invention.FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an outward appearance of the mobilephone. FIG. 6 is a side transparent view showing the FPC board toconnect circuit substrates while first and second housings are in asliding operation. Since the structure of the second exemplaryembodiment is the same as the above first exemplary embodiment, in FIGS.5 and 6, same reference numbers are assigned to same parts (this appliesto other exemplary embodiments).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, as in the above first exemplary embodiment,the mobile phone 40 is configured so that an upper unit 41 is coupled toa lower unit 51 by an FPC board 31 and that the upper and lower units 41and 51 can overlie each other in a manner in which the upper surface ofthe mobile phone 40 is inclined in a thin box-like structure. The mobilephone 40 is also configured so that the upper unit 41 faces the lowerunit 51 and a lower surface 42 b of an upper housing 42 of the upperunit 41 can be coupled to an upper surface 52 a of a lower housing 52 ofthe lower unit 51 in a manner in which a lower surface 52 b and an uppersurface 42 a can be freely slid in a longitudinal direction with the twosurfaces 42 b and 52 a facing each other. In the upper unit 41, adisplay portion 11 a to display various information is disposed onapproximately the whole upper surface 42 a of the upper housing 42. Inthe lower unit 51, an operation section (not shown) to perform anoperation to input various information is disposed in a region on theupper surface 52 a of the lower housing 52 exposing after having slidthe upper unit 41.

The height of the side surface (side wall portion) 52 c of the lowerhousing 52 of the lower unit 51 changes along the slant-inclined uppersurface 52 a rising toward the rear end side. The upper surface 42 a andlower surface 42 b of the upper housing 42 of the upper unit 41 areslant-inclined in parallel to the upper surface 52 a of the lowerhousing 52 and the lower surface 42 b of the upper housing 42 faces theupper surface 52 a of the lower housing 52 in a state being in closecontact with each other. On the lower surface 42 b of the upper housing42 and on the upper surface 52 a of the lower housing 52, as in theabove first exemplary embodiment, grooved rails each having itscross-sectional shape of a key-shaped track and extruding rails areformed and the lower surface 42 a and upper surface 52 a can be slid, ina state in which the lower and upper surfaces face each other,relatively in a longitudinal direction (in a slanting direction). Thatis, when the upper unit 41 and lower unit 51 are slid relatively from aclosed state where the units 41 and 51 overlie each other to an openedstate, the operation section on the upper surface 52 a of the lowerhousing 52 can be exposed so as to be operable for inputting from astate being hidden against the lower surface 42 b of the upper housing42. Moreover, a face angle at the display portion 11 a facing a user canbe made larger which can improve visibility, compared when the displayportion 11 a on the upper housing 42 is slid in a horizontal direction.

In the upper unit 41, a concave space portion 45 is formed throughapproximately the whole length from a portion near to the tip end sideto a portion near to the rear end side in a longitudinal direction ofthe lower surface 42 b of the upper housing 42 bending in a concaveshape. The concave space portion 45 is so formed as to have a bottomsurface 45 a being parallel to a circuit substrate 14 and the uppersurface 42 a and a recessed shape having a depth enough to house the FPCboard 31 and a drawing-out port 46 of the FPC board 31 is formed, in ashape of an aperture, on the rear end side. On the other hand, in thelower unit 51, a concave space portion 55 is formed from a portion nearto the rear end side to the central portion in a longitudinal directionof the upper surface 52 a of the lower housing 52. The concave spaceportion 55 is so formed as to have some depth on its tip end portion andhave a bottom surface 55 a being parallel to a circuit substrate 24 andthe lower surface 52 b and a recessed shape being wider in width thanthe FPC board 31 and a drawing-out port 56 of the FPC board 31 isformed, in a shape of an aperture, on the tip end side (front side).That is, even in the case of the closed state where the upper unit 41and lower unit 51 overlie each other or even in the case of the openedstate where the upper unit 41 is slid over the lower unit 51 to themaximum, the drawing-out port 46 of the upper housing 42 and thedrawing-out port 56 of the lower housing 52 are formed in end portionsof the concave space portions 45 and 55 so that the drawing-out ports 46and 56 are not exposed to the outside. Moreover, when the upper unit 41is slid over the lower unit 51 to the maximum, the drawing-out port 56of the lower housing 52 and the drawing-out port 46 of the upper housing42 are so formed as to face each other.

On the other hand, the FPC board 31, on the upper unit 41 side, afterbeing drawn from the drawing-out port 46 formed on the rear end side ofthe concave space portion 45 of the upper housing 42, extends up to thetip end side (up to a portion near to a central position) of the concavespace portion 55 of the lower housing 52 facing on the tip end side ofthe concave space portion 45. The FPC board 31 on the lower unit 51,after being drawn from the drawing-out port 56 formed on the tip endside of the concave space portion 55 of the lower housing 52, extends upto the end side. Then, the FPC board 31 extends in the same direction onthe tip end side of the concave space portion 45 on the upper unit 41side and on the rear end side of the concave space portion 55 of thelower unit 51 side to be folded back so that a folding-back portion 31 ais formed.

Therefore, the FPC board 31, as shown in FIG. 6( a), in the case of theclosed state where the upper unit 41 and lower unit 51 overlie eachother, the folding-back portion 31 a is positioned in a portion near tothe rear end side of the drawing-out port 56 of the concave spaceportion 55 and is to be housed in the concave space portion 55. That is,the folding-back portion 31 a is positioned in a portion near to therear end side of the concave space portion 55 and, therefore, by formingthe concave space portion 55 so as to be deeper from its tip end sidethan the case of the above exemplary embodiment, the folding-backportion 31 a is allowed to bend in a curvature that provides no load andits dimensions are so set as to be housed therein.

In the case of the opened state where the upper unit 41 is slid over thelower unit 51 to the maximum, the folding-back portion 31 a of the FPCboard 31, as shown in FIG. 6( b), moves toward the rear end side from aportion near to the drawing-out port 56 of the concave space portion 55to be housed in its concave space portion 56. That is, as thedrawing-out port 46 of the upper housing 42 slides toward the tip endportion (approaching the drawing-out port 56 of the lower housing 52),the FPC board 31 between the drawing-out ports 46 and 56 changes aposition where the folding-back portion 31 a is formed so as to bepositioned on the rear end side in the concave space portion 55 beingdeepest from the slant-inclined upper surface 52 a and, therefore, thefolding-back portion 31 a is allowed to bend in a curvature thatprovides no load and its dimensions are so set as not to be exposedoutside.

Thus, according to the second exemplary embodiment, the folding-backportion 31 a of the FPC board 31 can be housed in the concave spaceportion 55 formed in the upper surface 52 a serving as a slide facingsurface of the lower housing 52 on the lower unit 51 side allowing theupper unit 41 to slide relatively in a slanting direction. As a result,space among the upper surface 52 a and circuit substrates 24 can be usedeffectively without producing dead space, which ensures mounting spacerequired for durability of the FPC board 31 therein without providinganother space separately. Thus, in the second exemplary embodimentemploying the structure allowing the upper unit 41 to be slid over thelower unit 51 in a slanting direction and, by preventing unnecessarylarge thickness of components, miniaturization and thinning can beachieved and, as a result, a user performing operations of the operationsection 21 a can see visually and easily the display portion 11 a.

Third Exemplary Embodiment

FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing one example of a mobile phone of athird exemplary embodiment employing a sliding-type electronic devicehaving a mounting structure of a flexible printed circuit of the presentinvention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an outward appearance ofthe mobile phone. FIG. 8 is a side transparent view showing an FPC boardto connect circuit substrates while upper and lower housings are in asliding operation.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the mobile phone 60 is so configured that anupper unit 61 and a lower unit 71 are coupled by the FPC board 31 in amanner in which the upper and lower units 61 and 71 can overlie eachother in the shape of thin rectangular parallelepiped structure and in amanner in which a lower surface 62 b of the upper housing 62 of theupper unit 61 and an upper surface 72 a of the lower housing 72 of thelower unit 71 can be freely slid in a longitudinal direction with thelower surface 62 b and upper surface 72 a being faced towards eachother. A display portion 11 a to display various information is placedon approximately the whole upper surface 62 a of the upper housing 62.In the lower unit 71, an operation section (not shown) to perform anoperation to input various information is disposed in a region on theupper surface 72 a of the lower housing 72 exposing after having slidthe upper unit 61.

In the lower unit 71, the height of a side surface (side wall portion)72 c of the lower housing 72 changes slant in a sliding direction andthe upper surface 72 a becomes higher on the rear end side in a slantedmanner. In the upper unit 61, similarly, the height of a side surface(side wall portion) 62 c of the upper housing 62 changes slant in asliding direction and the lower surface 62 b becomes lower on the rearend side in a slanted manner. The lower surface 62 b faces the uppersurface 72 a in a manner approaching each other. On the lower surface 62b of the upper housing 62 and on the upper surface 72 a of the lowerhousing 72, as in the above exemplary embodiments, grooved rails eachhaving its cross-sectional shape of a key-shaped track and extrudingrails are formed and the lower surface 62 b and upper surface 72 a canbe slid, in a state in which the lower and upper surfaces face eachother in an approaching manner, relatively in a longitudinal direction(in a slanting direction). That is, when the upper unit 61 and lowerunit 71 are slid relatively from a closed state where the units 61 and71 overlie each other to an opened state, the operation section on theupper surface 72 a of the lower housing 72 can be exposed so as to beoperable for inputting from a state being hidden against the lowersurface 62 b of the upper housing 62.

In the upper unit 61, a concave space portion 65 is formed throughapproximately the whole length from a portion near to the tip end sideto a portion near to the rear end side in a longitudinal direction ofthe lower surface 62 b of the upper housing 62. The concave spaceportion 65 is so formed as to have a bottom surface 65 a being parallelto a circuit substrate 14 and the upper surface 62 a and a recessedshape being wider in width than the FPC board 31 and a drawing-out port66 of the FPC board 31 is formed, in a shape of an aperture, on the rearend side. On the other hand, in the lower unit 71, a concave spaceportion 75 is formed from a portion near to the rear end side to aportion near to a central position in the longitudinal direction of theupper surface 72 a of the lower housing 72. The concave space portion 75is so formed as to have a bottom surface 75 a being parallel to thecircuit substrate 14 and upper surface 72 a and a recessed shape beingwider in width than the FPC board 31 and a drawing-out port 76 of theFPC board 31 is formed, in a shape of an aperture, on the tip end side(near the front). That is, the drawing-out port 66 of the upper housing62 and the drawing-out port 76 of the lower housing 72 are formed on theend portion of the concave space portions 65 and 75 so that the ports 66and 76 are not exposed to the outside even in the case of the statewhere the upper unit 61 and lower unit 71 overlie each other or even inthe case of the state where the upper unit 61 is slid over the lowerunit 71 to the maximum. Moreover, the drawing-out port 76 of the lowerhousing 72 is formed at a place facing the drawing-out port 66 of theupper housing 62 in an opened state where the drawing-out port 76 isslid to the maximum.

On the other hand, on the upper unit 61 side, the FPC board 31 extends,after being drawn from the drawing-out port 66 formed, in a shape of anaperture, on the rear end side of the concave space portion 65 of theupper housing 62, up to the tip end side (up to over a portion near to acentral portion) of the concave space portion 75 of the lower housing 72facing the tip end portion of the concave space portion 75. The FPCboard 31 on the lower unit 71 side extends, after being drawn from thedrawing-out port 76 formed on the tip end side of the concave spaceportion 75 of the lower housing 72, up to the rear end side (over aportion near to a central portion). The FPC board 31 has a folding-backportion 31 a which is formed by being extended in the same directionbetween the tip end side of the concave space portion 65 on the upperunit 61 side and the rear end side of the concave space portion 75 onthe lower unit 71 side.

Therefore, in the case of the closed state wherein the upper unit 61 andlower unit 71 overlie each other, the folding-back portion 31 a of theFPC board 31, as shown in FIG. 8( a), is positioned in a portion near tothe rear end side of the drawing-out port 76 of the concave spaceportion 75 and is housed in the concave space portions 65 and 75. Thatis, the folding-back portion 31 a of the FPC board 31 is positioned at aplace having an intermediate depth in the concave space portion 65 andis allowed to bend in a curvature that provides no load and itsdimensions are so set as to be housed therein.

Moreover, in the case of the opened state where the upper unit 61 isslid over the lower unit 71 to the maximum, the folding-back portion 31a of the FPC board 31, as shown in FIG. 8( b), moves from a portion nearto the drawing-out port 76 of the concave space portion 75 to the rearend side and is housed in the concave space portions 65 and 75. That is,as the drawing-out port 66 of the upper housing 62 is slid toward thetip end portion side (approaching the drawing-out port 76 of the lowerhousing 72), the FPC board 31 existing between the drawing-out ports 66and 76 changes the position where the folding-back portion 31 a isformed so as to be positioned on the deepest rear end side in theconcave space portion 75 and to gently bend in a curvature that providessmall load and, therefore, the dimensions are set so as to prevent theexposure toward the outside.

Thus, according to the third exemplary embodiment, the upper unit 61 andlower unit 71 are slid relatively in a slanting direction and the lowersurface 62 b of the upper housing 62 faces the upper surface 72 a of thelower housing 72 and the concave space portion 65 is formed on the lowersurface 62 a of the upper housing 62 and the concave space portion 75 isformed on the upper surface 72 a of the lower housing 72. As a result,space among the lower surface 62 b, upper surface 72 a, and circuitsubstrates 14 and 24 can be used effectively without producing deadspace, which ensures mounting space required for durability of the FPCboard 31 therein without providing another mounting space separately.Thus, in the third exemplary embodiment employing the structure allowingthe upper unit 61 to be slid over the lower unit 71 in a slantingdirection and, by preventing unnecessary large thickness of components,which can achieve miniaturization and thinning of the mobile phone.

Though various exemplary embodiments have been described in detail withreference to the figures, it is understood that the invention is notlimited to these exemplary embodiments but may be changed and modifiedwithout departing from the scope of the invention. In the exemplaryembodiments described above, examples are explained in which concavespace portions to house the FPC board are formed on both the upperhousing and lower housing facing each other in a manner in which eachhousing has more than a depth corresponding to a thickness of the FPCboard, however, it is not necessary to say that the present invention isnot limited to these and, when required space can be ensured, theconcave space portion can be formed in one housing only. For example, inthe above second exemplary embodiment, in the second exemplaryembodiment, the concave space portion 45 may not have its depth.

In the above exemplary embodiments, one example is described in whichthe upper housing is slid over the lower housing in a longitudinaldirection, however, the present invention is not limited to this and,for example, even when the housings are relatively moved rotationally ina positive or negative direction by using its one end portion asrotational-motion supporting point, the present invention can be appliedto the case where a surface moving rotationally in a positive ornegative direction is inclined.

The present application claims priority based on Japanese PatentApplication No. 2008-299082 filed Nov. 25, 2008, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in its entirely.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be widely applied not only to mobile phonesbut also electronic devices having a sliding mechanism, for example,portable electronic terminals such as notebook type personal computer,PDAs (personal digital assistants), digital cameras, and digital videocameras.

EXPLANATION OF LETTERS AND NUMERALS

-   -   10, 40, and 60; Mobile phone (portable electronic device)    -   11 a; Display portion    -   12, 42, and 62; Upper housing (first housing)    -   12 b, 42 b, and 62 b; Lower surface (Slide facing surface)    -   12 c, 22 c, 52 c, 62 c, and 72 c; Side surface (side wall        portion)    -   13; Grooved rail    -   14 and 24; Circuit substrate    -   15, 25, 45, 55, 65, and 75; Concave space portion    -   16, 26, 46, 56, 66, 76; Drawing-out port    -   21 a; Operation section    -   22, 52, and 72; Lower housing (second housing)    -   22 a, 52 a, and 72 a; Upper surface (slide facing surface)    -   23; Extruding rail    -   31; Flexible printed circuit (FPC) board    -   31 a; Folding-back portion

1. A mounting structure of a flexible printed circuit board comprising:a flexible printed circuit board routed between slide facing surfaces ofa first housing and a second housing both being mechanically coupled toeach other in a manner being freely slidable to electrically connect thefirst and second housings wherein a height of a sidewall surface makingup at least one of said first and second housings changes along a freelyslidable direction; and a concave space portion on a slide facingsurface making up at least one of said first and second housings toaccommodate a flexible change in shape of said flexible printed circuitboard caused by sliding motion between said first and second housings.2. A mounting structure of a flexible printed circuit board according toclaim 1, wherein said flexible printed circuit board is folded back androuted between said slide facing surfaces of said first housing and saidsecond housing; and when said concave space portion to accommodatesflexible changes in folding-back curvature and folding-back position ofsaid flexible printed circuit board caused by sliding motion betweensaid first and second housings.
 3. A mounting structure of a flexibleprinted circuit board according to claim 2, wherein said height of saidsidewall surface making up at least one of said first and secondhousings changes in a bending manner along said freely slidabledirection; and said concave space portion accommodates flexible changesin folding-back curvature and folding-back position of said flexibleprinted circuit board caused by sliding motion between said first andsecond housings.
 4. A mounting structure of a flexible printed circuitboard according to claim 2, comprising: wherein said height of saidsidewall surface changes in a slanted and inclined manner along saidfreely slidable direction; and said concave space portion accommodatesflexible changes in folding-back curvature and folding-back position ofsaid flexible printed circuit board caused by sliding motion betweensaid first and second housings.
 5. The mounting structure of theflexible printed circuit board according to claim 2, wherein adrawing-out port to draw out said flexible printed circuit board betweensaid slide facing surfaces of said first housing and said second housingis positioned in a portion being able to house the entire flexibleprinted circuit board in a facing region even when said slide facingsurfaces are in a maximum opened sliding state.
 6. The mountingstructure of the flexible printed circuit board according to claim 5,wherein a drawing-out port to draw out said flexible printed circuitboard between said slide facing surfaces of said first housing and saidsecond housing is formed, in at least one concave space portion out ofsaid slide facing surfaces, in a rear end portion in a direction ofsliding open motion on a slide facing surface and is formed, in anotherconcave space portion, in a front portion to the rear end portion in adirection of sliding open motion on a slide facing surface.
 7. Themounting structure of the flexible printed circuit board according toclaim 6, wherein, in the concave portions, the flexible printed circuitboard being extended at least up to a central portion from a rear endportion in a direction of sliding open motion on a sliding facingsurface of said slide facing surface of the first housing and is drawnfrom a first drawing-out port formed in said rear end portion in saidconcave space portion and housed and, wherein a second drawing-out portto draw out the flexible printed circuit board of said second housing isformed, in a shape of an aperture, in a position facing the firstdrawing-out port in a maximum open sliding state and, wherein saidflexible printed circuit board drawn from the first and seconddrawing-out ports folded back on a central portion side of said concavespace portion is housed between said slide facing surfaces.
 8. Asliding-type electronic device comprising: a flexible printed circuitboard routed between slide facing surfaces of a first housing and asecond housing both being mechanically coupled to each other in a mannerbeing freely slidable to electrically connect the first and secondhousings wherein a height of a sidewall surface making up at least oneof said first and second housings changes along a freely slidabledirection; and a concave space portion on a slide facing surface makingup at least one of said first and second housings to accommodate aflexible change in shape of said flexible printed circuit board causedby sliding motion between said first and second housings.
 9. Thesliding-type electronic device according to claim 8, wherein saidflexible printed circuit board is folded back and routed between saidslide facing surfaces of said first housing and said second housing; andwherein said concave space portion accommodates flexible changes infolding-back curvature and folding-back position of said flexibleprinted circuit board caused by sliding motion between said first andsecond housings.
 10. The sliding-type electronic device according toclaim 9, wherein a height of a sidewall surface changes in a bendingmanner along said freely slidable direction; and wherein said concavespace portion accommodates flexible changes in folding-back curvatureand folding-back position of said flexible printed circuit board causedby sliding motion between said first and second housings.
 11. Thesliding-type electronic device according to claim 9, wherein a height ofa sidewall surface changes in a slanted and inclined manner along saidfreely slidable direction; and wherein said concave space portionaccommodates flexible changes in folding-back curvature and folding-backposition of said flexible printed circuit board caused by sliding motionbetween said first and second housings.
 12. A sliding-type electronicdevice according to claim 9, wherein a drawing-out port to draw out saidflexible printed circuit board between said slide facing surfaces ofsaid first housing and said second housing is positioned in a portionbeing able to house the entire flexible printed circuit board in afacing region even when said slide facing surfaces are in a maximumopened sliding state.
 13. The sliding-type electronic device accordingto claim 12, wherein a drawing-out port to draw out said flexibleprinted circuit board between said slide facing surfaces of said firsthousing and said second housing is formed, in at least one concave spaceportion out of said slide facing surfaces, in a rear end portion in adirection of sliding open motion on a slide facing surface and isformed, in another concave space portion, in a front portion to the rearend portion in a direction of sliding open motion on a slide facingsurface.
 14. The sliding-type electronic device according to claim 13,wherein, in the concave portions, the flexible printed circuit boardbeing extended at least up to a central portion from a rear end portionin a direction of sliding open motion on a sliding facing surface ofsaid slide facing surface of the first housing and is drawn from a firstdrawing-out port formed in said rear end portion in said concave spaceportion and housed and, wherein a second drawing-out port to draw outthe flexible printed circuit board of said second housing is formed, ina shape of an aperture, in a position facing the first drawing-out portin a maximum open sliding state and, wherein said flexible printedcircuit board drawn from the first and second drawing-out ports foldedback on a central portion side of said concave space portion is housedbetween said slide facing surfaces.
 15. The mounting structure of theflexible printed circuit board according to claim 3, wherein adrawing-out port to draw out said flexible printed circuit board betweensaid slide facing surfaces of said first housing and said second housingis positioned in a portion being able to house the entire flexibleprinted circuit board in a facing region even when said slide facingsurfaces are in a maximum opened sliding state.
 16. The mountingstructure of the flexible printed circuit board according to claim 4,wherein a drawing-out port to draw out said flexible printed circuitboard between said slide facing surfaces of said first housing and saidsecond housing is positioned in a portion being able to house the entireflexible printed circuit board in a facing region even when said slidefacing surfaces are in a maximum opened sliding state.
 17. The mountingstructure of the flexible printed circuit board according to claim 15,wherein a drawing-out port to draw out said flexible printed circuitboard between said slide facing surfaces of said first housing and saidsecond housing is formed, in at least one concave space portion out ofsaid slide facing surfaces, in a rear end portion in a direction ofsliding open motion on a slide facing surface and is formed, in anotherconcave space portion, in a front portion to the rear end portion in adirection of sliding open motion on a slide facing surface.
 18. Themounting structure of the flexible printed circuit board according toclaim 16, wherein a drawing-out port to draw out said flexible printedcircuit board between said slide facing surfaces of said first housingand said second housing is formed, in at least one concave space portionout of said slide facing surfaces, in a rear end portion in a directionof sliding open motion on a slide facing surface and is formed, inanother concave space portion, in a front portion to the rear endportion in a direction of sliding open motion on a slide facing surface.19. The mounting structure of the flexible printed circuit boardaccording to claim 17, wherein, in the concave portions, the flexibleprinted circuit board being extended at least up to a central portionfrom a rear end portion in a direction of sliding open motion on asliding facing surface of said slide facing surface of the first housingand is drawn from a first drawing-out port formed in said rear endportion in said concave space portion and housed and, wherein a seconddrawing-out port to draw out the flexible printed circuit board of saidsecond housing is formed, in a shape of an aperture, in a positionfacing the first drawing-out port in a maximum open sliding state and,wherein said flexible printed circuit board drawn from the first andsecond drawing-out ports folded back on a central portion side of saidconcave space portion is housed between said slide facing surfaces. 20.The mounting structure of the flexible printed circuit board accordingto claim 18, wherein, in the concave portions, the flexible printedcircuit board being extended at least up to a central portion from arear end portion in a direction of sliding open motion on a slidingfacing surface of said slide facing surface of the first housing and isdrawn from a first drawing-out port formed in said rear end portion insaid concave space portion and housed and, wherein a second drawing-outport to draw out the flexible printed circuit board of said secondhousing is formed, in a shape of an aperture, in a position facing thefirst drawing-out port in a maximum open sliding state and, wherein saidflexible printed circuit board drawn from the first and seconddrawing-out ports folded back on a central portion side of said concavespace portion is housed between said slide facing surfaces.